How matching the right “mode” to the right activity can make or break your performance

How matching the right “mode” to the right activity can make or break your performance

I managed to get outside for the couple of good weather days we just had near Sydney and whilst co-leading a hike through a section of the Great North Walk, my friend and brilliant EcoPsychologist, Richard and I had a great conversation regarding the application of different modes for different tasks.?

I wanted to expand a little on this idea and also share how it intersects with the world of work, particularly when leading people.?

Firstly, whilst I am not defining what a mode is I will highlight how I think about it. For me, a “Mode” means the collection of mental, emotional, physical and cognitive states and processes which I am exhibiting, or trying to exhibit, for a specific activity. Think about it in your own life… have you said to your significant other, “sorry hunny, I am just in work mode, I will be there in a sec”, or “I’m in holiday mode, Bob’s email can wait until Monday”. This is simply an extension of that thinking to a deeper level of matching modes to discreet activities.?

When it works well it looks like this…

I am in the climbing gym… given recent flooding rains in Sydney. I am working on a steep overhanging wall, the climbing is not particularly technical and has good hand holds but is extremely physical, my mode is aggressive, action and progression focussed, emotionally I tap into aggression and determination, physically I look to increase my breathing rate and my eyes are laser focussed on the next hold… I top out, am pretty happy with myself and take a moment to calm myself and congratulate myself whilst my partner nails the route!! Fifteen minutes later we are climbing on a wall that is not quite vertical (slab for those in the know), with small, delicate holds. I switch modes, I look to lower my breathing and heart rate, my movements are not powerful but delicate and I concentrate on the feeling of moving gently and almost trying to dance across the tiny footholds. Emotionally, I focus on calmness, compassion and joy and mentally I am concentrating on precise, clean, flowy movement. I get to the end of the session having climbed well because I have appropriately matched my mode to the activity at hand.

When it doesn’t work well it looks like this…

I am in an operational mode… I am focussed on lining up the pillars of a strategy and doing the next right thing to execute on the strategy. I am emotionally connected to the outcomes and my body and emotional state is highly activated like it might be before a big speaking engagement, or climbing a very steep overhang. Cognitively I am thinking about tasks and Jobs To Be Done. Boom!! That’s the sound of my mode and me running straight into a brick wall of resistance, realizing that other stakeholders are not on the same page; the plan is not fully agreed upon, people in the room have real, valid and totally normal doubts. I need to shift modes, much like I was able to do in my previous example.?

At this point I would love to tell you that I switched modes; engaged more compassion, used breathing and neuro-visual techniques to bring down my body activation, focussed on people not tasks, and it all succeeded. I didn’t. It didn’t…

?I went full speed ahead, in the wrong mode and damaged relationships that would take time to mend and resolve. Even more importantly, I have made this mistake more than once!!

So why is this important??

Three reasons:

1. The first is pretty clearly demonstrated above… If you are stuck in the wrong mode for a specific activity you are not going to get the best outcome. Stack up enough of these sub-optimal outcomes and you have a general trend of sub-optimal performance. This means there is a direct relationship between a focus on matching the right mode with the right activity and long term performance
2. Matching modes in situations of high consequence takes a few extra minutes to do but the cost of not doing it takes months or years to resolve. Think about matching the wrong mode to a difficult rock climb with real risk and taking an unnecessary fall leading to significant injury. Or think about taking the wrong mode into a salary meeting with a senior executive leading an unnecessary resignation and the associated cost. Small tweaks, small investment, big savings!!!
3. Mode awareness and mode switching is a skill. This means it can and should be practiced and we should do our best to find instructive environments in which to hone this skillset. Rock climbing and work conversations don’t have too much in common on the surface… but the immediate and clear feedback of a high consequence sport in nature is a perfect instructor for mode switching which is critical in our working world!!

I hope this helps a few of you… I can honestly say I am still pretty average at mode switching, but the better I get, the better the outcomes I get are.?

Finally, HELP!! I would love to learn more from you about mode switching… please comment below with the common modes you need to engage in the different activities of your work, we can learn from each other's insight!!!

Photo is of the cave system we slept in before discussing mode switching!!